The heart matters

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) gave awards to individuals and companies who contributed to the organization’s goals of preventing animal cruelty and creating a society based on humane principles. 

I have written about the Order of the Platinum Paw which was awarded to Purina for launching the ”Homeless Not Worthless” campaign; canine behavior specialist Jojo Isorena for training PAWS’ shelter dogs and making them more adoptable; and celebrity volunteer Karylle, who is also PAWS’ spokesperson for its soon-to-be launched campaign.

But little is known about the PAWS Golden Heart awardees. This award was given to people and companies who donated time, support, and talent to further the cause of animal welfare. Among the Golden Heart awardees is the Philippine STAR PetLife section.    — Kathy Moran

Agot Isidro-Sandejas

Agot became involved with PAWS by accident. Her first call to the shelter was actually a call for help for two neglected dogs in her neighborhood. That was the beginning of her never-ending crusade for animal welfare. Because of this passion, she was handpicked by a multinational beverage company to be part of its roster of “Women of Passion” with PAWS as her beneficiary.

Seb Chua

Known in art circles as the master of “fractal” sculptures, Seb was moved by the PAWS campaign that showed the nobility of the Asong Pinoy (aspin). The result was the touching artwork called “The Guardian,” a life-sized sculpture of a boy with a native dog on his lap which is erected at the PAWS Shelter to serve as his tribute to all animal lovers.

Heart Evangelista

PAWS volunteers swear that Heart has a beautiful soul. During her first visit to the PAWS shelter, she was drawn to the animals especially, the dogs who flocked to her like long lost children waiting for her embrace. Heart has given dignity to native dogs and cats by also being one of PAWS’ spokesperson for its highly successful “See Beauty Beyond Breed” campaign.

Vets In Practice (VIP)

The extraordinary commitment of the veterinarians in this clinic both in caring for the animals rescued by PAWS and in educating pet owners in responsible pet ownership and the importance of spay-neuter has prompted PAWS to give an award to them for the second time. The men and women of Vets in Practice (VIP) have provided expert advice, skills and support to the PAWS clinic. They have, time and time, again demonstrated that they are willing to walk that extra mile, go beyond the call of professional duty to help animals and promote animal welfare. In so doing, VIP has helped the organization save countless lives.

Jericho Rosales

This talented actor is a cat-lover and has rescued many animals in distress and brought them to the PAWS shelter. He readily agreed to be the image model in PAWS’ highly successful “See Beauty Beyond Breed” campaign, which showed that native dogs and cats are just as beautiful and intelligent as the pure bred dogs and cats.

Vicente Roy Kayaban

A champion of the voiceless, Roy is a lawyer by profession and has volunteered to file cases for PAWS and beleaguered pet owners whose pets have been victims of cruelty.

This man of principle has won for the animals many victories on the legal front. He is not daunted by the odds and is bent on pursuing cases of Animal Welfare Act violations. He is PAWS’ lawyer for the very first dogfight court case filed in the country and is also the very first lawyer to file a motion for reconsideration of an animal welfare case at the Court of Appeals and at the Supreme Court.

Willie Chua

Willie Chua is a philanthropist for many causes — from evangelization to helping the poor and now, to helping animals. Willie’s daughter chose PAWS for her community work in school and when his daughter mentioned about the organization’s need to borrow vehicles from volunteers to rescue animals in distress, Chua made arrangements to donate his old L300 van to help PAWS’ humane education and rescue work.

Reema Changco

From the early days of PAWS, this TV host / commercial model has consistently volunteered to help the organization in whatever way she could. A girl who doesn’t mind getting down and dirty for the animals, Reema has served frozen yogurt and played Frisbee just to raise funds for the PAWS Animal Shelter.

Lander Vera-Perez And Regine Tolentino

What happens when a husband and wife team up and donate to their favorite charity?  The chosen organization ends up as one lucky recipient of a windfall of donations. Such was the case of PAWS when Lander Vera-Perez and Regine Tolentino both made it their personal missions to raise funds for the organization upon learning about the animal shelter’s numerous medical needs. Regine never passed up an opportunity to support PAWS’ events and even made PAWS the beneficiary for her summer dance classes. Husband Lander went on to become a winner in several Celebrity Poker tournaments where he chose PAWS as his charity. The couple has already raised more than P150,000 in combined donations to the PAWS Animal Shelter.